The typical saw device includes a cutting instrument, usually a saw blade, attached to a motor mounted beneath a work surface, commonly called a table. The table has an opening that allows a portion of the blade to extend through the table. To make a cut, a user places material on the table and directs the material through the rotating blade. To assist users in making accurate cuts, many table saws are adapted to receive fences or material guides.
One type of fence commonly found on table saws is the rip fence. The rip fence, also known as a guide assembly, is a table saw guide that assists users in making lengthwise cuts through material, as when cutting wood along the grain. Most rip fences traverse the table parallel to the cutting direction of the blade. In order to make cuts of varying width, a user slides the fence along the table closer to or farther away from the blade. To ensure an accurate cut is made, the fence should be securely fastened to the table.
A clamping system is commonly used to secure the rip fence to the table. The clamping system secures the fence to a guide located towards the front of the table and a guide located towards the rear of the table. The guides often extend perpendicularly to the cutting direction of the blade and traverse the entire width of the table. Previously known rip fence clamping systems utilize a rip fence that slides along the guides mounted at the front and the rear of the table. When the user places the fence in the desired position, the user engages a locking mechanism at the front which engages a locking mechanism at the rear that secures both ends of the rip fence to the table.
While clamping systems can adequately secure the fence to the table, some users find that the position of the rip fence can move when being clamped to the table. If the rip fence does move during clamping, the clamped location of the fence causes the material being cut to be cut along a line different than that intended by the user. The user believes that once the rip fence is clamped to the table, the clamping mechanism will pull the rip fence to the intended and desired location. But an alignment mechanism might not work if clamping at the rear end is adjusted incorrectly.
In view of the foregoing, it would be advantageous to provide a rip fence for a table saw where the rip fence provides for increased accuracy in cutting of material. It would also be advantageous if the rip fence could be easily secured to the table. Furthermore, it would be advantageous if the rip fence could be accurately located and clamped in the desired position without resorting to trial and error.